Dear students,
I am writing this to you on your first day to encourage you to wear your mask indoors and in the library. I am Akimel O’odham (Pima) from the Gila River Community. I was born at the Phoenix Indian Medical Center here in Phoenix. I went to Mesa Public Schools, the University of Arizona, and the University of Washington for my education. I worked at many university libraries in my career, and also worked in industry at Roche Tissue Diagnostics in Tucson. I have a big family and lots of relatives. I studied German in high school and college. I lived in Germany with a host family. I learned a new language and culture. When the pandemic began, I paid attention to the international news. Friends in Italy, Spain, and Germany began contacting me. Friends from Japan and Korea also contacted me. Friends from the Navajo Nation and other Tribal Nations contacted me. This global pandemic would impact us all so greatly. I read all I could and shared information early on to physicians and community leaders. I wanted to make a difference in slowing the spread of the virus and saving lives. I wrote to city, county, and state leaders. I sent them the evidence of articles on the use of masks to keep people healthy. Archives and past pandemics revealed how important the use of masks is as a preventative measure. Public Health is in my family. My sister is a family medicine physician in New Mexico, my mother a nurse and on the Tribal Health Board, my cousin an ICU nurse here in Phoenix. I have seen and felt the impacts of COVID-19 personally and professionally.
I want you to care about your community and those who are not yet vaccinated and those who have lost loved ones. Spouses, parents, grandparents, children, multiple family members, physicians, nurses, respiratory therapists, house staff, essential workers, students, friends, and strangers have all died of COVID-19. Many lives from Black, Indigenous, Latino and Hispanic communities were lost from the virus. Please have some care and respect for those that have lost a loved one or will lose a loved one. I know it’s your choice, but public health, preventative medicine, care, empathy and love are greater than personal choice in my culture. Masks are still required in Tribal communities and you are on Native Land. The homelands of generations of Native American people live here in Phoenix and throughout Arizona. Please show respect, love, and care for one another and wear your mask indoors. I wanted to share this quote with you from the article Coalition of Native women urge the public to keep wearing masks “Continuing to wear a mask is for the collective wellbeing. It is also an equity issue, because Native communities and communities of color were impacted at higher rates than the rest of the population by COVID-19. This puts the collective needs above the individual. Those sacrifices mean better outcomes to folks who are disproportionately impacted by the virus.”
My heart aches every day that I see people getting sick and dying from COVID-19. We can save lives and protect others. Not everyone has health insurance or the ability to work from home. Please have empathy and love for each other. This is my wish for the children and elders to be protected and cared for in this community. I am only one person, but my actions have power. I can spread care and respect with my actions. I can make a difference. You can make a difference. You are the future physicians and will one day be treating patients and delivering news to families. I believe you will be successful and amazing physicians. Please take time to appreciate the opportunities you get here at COM-P and share love with all around you.
Love your COM-P Librarian,
Naomi Bishop, MLIS, AHIP
Naomi Bishop (Akimel O’odham) is an Associate Librarian at the University of Arizona College of Medicine Phoenix. She received her Master of Library and Information Science degree from University of Washington in Seattle, Washington in 2010. Naomi holds a Bachelor of Arts in German Studies and Political Science from the University of Arizona. She is a member of the Medical Library Association, the American Indian Science and Engineering Society, and the American Indian Library Association.